The classic Sonic games will always be in my heart, especially Sonic 1, 2 & Knuckles all on the Sega Genesis. I still come back to these games now and then ever since I first got my first console at the age of 10, what makes these games great was the replay value and fast gameplay that made me come back to them. Ever since Sega went to develop and publish games for third party companies like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft the nostalgia for the Sonic the Hedgehog went downhill for me over the years.
Okay yes, there were some good Sonic games and bad ones, but there hasn't been a good Sonic game on consoles ever since the Dreamcast was discontinued, Mega Collections or ports of past Sonic games have been enjoyable especially if you are a fan of 2D Sonic games. Sonic Mania really did surprise me how enjoyable it and how a good Sonic game should be made without using current-gen technology for 3D Sonic games. Just like past Sonic games you'll have the choice to either play as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles go on another adventure and defeat Doctor Robotnik from taking over the world, but you also have to defeat his new robotic henchmen, the Hard-Boiled Heavies.
Each one will have their own abilities like Sonic can drop dash, Tails can fly and swim and Knuckles can glide and climb on walls. If you've played Sonic 2 you do have the option to drop and drop out of the game if you have a second controller, you would end up playing as Tails if you wanted to play through the game in co-op for the main story. There is split-screen multiplayer as well first one to reach the finish line wins the level, Time Attack is added where you can select any level from Sonic Mania and try and get the fastest time and that will be added to the Online Leaderboard if you make a mistake halfway through that level you can easily hold down the triangle button and start again if you aren't happy with that time or keep messing up and want to get through the level without making any mistakes.
Special Stages make a return just by jumping into a giant ring where you can collect the seven Chaos Emeralds manage to collect all seven will let you become super and you'll gain a different ending. Also, Blue Sphere make a return which was used in Sonic 3 just pass by a checkpoint with a decent number of rings 25 or more you'll be able to enter it; if you get all the spheres and rings you'll either get a silver or gold medal more medals you collect you'll unlock some features which can be accessed at any time.
Sonic Mania throws in some classic levels like Green Hill, Chemical Plant and Flying Battery but all the classic levels have been extended even longer and added in some new routes at the same time. What surprises me that unlike the original Sonic games some levels never made it in the original games, but some of them do get added in Sonic Mania instead making it feel like a new coat of paint but fit in perfectly well. Even though the level designs feel a little identical to the mobile or port versions of past classic Sonic games, all of them do a great job keeping the nostalgia together and all developed by both PagodaWest Games and Headcannon where both were part of the Sonic fangame community. This what I loved about the fangame communities they make some unique levels of classic Sonic games added in new details or make levels that were never in the original versions back in the 90's it felt like Mario Maker when creating your own levels but instead it's with Sonic the Hedgehog instead.
The soundtrack is also a great touch to listen to when playing Sonic Mania even some of the new levels are catchy to listen. With only 12 levels in total the music never gets old bringing something new, there have been some moments I found a little challenging, but does it so well for a 2D game there are few challenges, especially for trophy collectors where one of them is where you have to get a Perfect Run without getting a Game Over and having all seven Chaos Emeralds at the same time, in total you can easily finish the game within a few hours but offers plenty of replay value. Many fans, including myself, have been wanting a good Sonic game for years, especially if you loved the original games, Sonic Mania is worth the purchase and time no matter what version you end up buying it on, just hope that Sega listens to its fans and critics this is how a Sonic game should be made when it's on consoles.